VARIOUS BATTLES

#First Battle of Anandpur
When the Governer of Sirhind got permission from Aurangzeb to attack on Anandpur Sahib, he immediately sent Painde Khan and Deena Beg with an army of ten thousand towards Anandpur Sahib. Small kingdoms of hill regions like Kehlaur, Jaiswal, and Sarmour etc also joined the Mughal forces. Back in Anandpur Sahib the Sikhs were also ready with high spirits to fight for their Guru. In the month of January 1701 a fierce battle was fought between the Sikh forces and the Mughals. Sahibzada Ajit Singh Who was nearing about fourteen years in age, fought very bravely. Painde Khan provoked Guru for a one to one fight. He attacked Guru Sahib with two arrows but both of them went in vain. Then Guru took in charge and aimed at Painde Khan with his bow. The arrow hit Painde Khan who fell apart immediately. With his fall the Mughals immediately started returning back. Another commander Dina Begh tried to resist and attack the Sikhs but was in vain and the enemy forces left the battlefield.

#Second Battle of Anandpur
After the loss in the first battle, the hilly kings came into two minds, on one side they had the taste of the strength of Sikhs under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh, but on the other hand they could not tolerate the growing reputation of Guru and the spreading of Sikhism in the landscapes. They send a message to the tenth master that he should pay the tax for the place where he and his Sikhs were living. Guru didn’t accept this stating to the fact that a suitable amount was paid when his father Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib brought the land. This lead to, what we term as the ‘second battle of Anandpur Sahib’.
Hilly kingdoms gathered together along with the so-called small communities like the Ranghars and the Gujjars. Sikhs also came out of the town to face the attacks, apart from the Sikhs of Malwa and Doaba, about five hundred Sikhs who came from Majah came from back and attacked the enemy. This created a panic and the forces returned back. Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Alam Singh and Bhai Udai Singh showed exceptional skills of war fare and made it difficult for the enemy to staying the battle field. Next day the mountain kings again attacked and again they were turned back by the fighting Sikhs. Perhaps the enemy understood that it is impossible to defeat the Sikhs in a face-to-face battle. They cornered the city from all four regions in order to cut the supply of food and water. This way they cornered the city for about two months but this didn’t created much difference. Soon the enemy forces lost their temper and they attacked again. In order to break the entrance gate of Fort Lohgarh a huge elephant was prepared and made to drink intoxicants. When Guru got this news he immediately asked Bhai Duni Chand, another Sikh who was had a very bulky body but a weak heart to go and face the elephant. This terrorized him and he tried to escape the forces of Guru, in the process of which he broke his leg. Soon he died after been bitten by a snake. Next person to be sent was Bhai Bachitter Singh who was the son of Bhai Mani Singh along with a spear known as Nagni Barchi. He immediately went on his horse to face the drunken elephant. Getting in face with the animal he immediately pierced his weapon on the head of the elephant through the metallic shield. The elephant started returning back thus killing many of the soldiers of the mountain forces who were following it. One of the Jaiswal kings continued encouraging his men but soon he was killed with his head removed. Other people like the Handurias and the Kehlurias also got injured. But still the hilly rulers were not willing to leave. Next day Ghamand Chand took the command, and for whole of the day a fierce battle was fought, In the evening Ghamand Chand got injured from a gun shot which came from unknown source, this demoralized his forced who left the city. In this way the second battle of Anandpur came to an end during the last month of year 1701.

#Battle of Nirmoh
The Hilly kings were not able to trace out the way to defeat Guru's Sikhs, till one of their ministers Parma Nand suggested his authorities to make a request to Guru Sahib to leave Anandpur Sahib for a while so that their forces can return home with some self respect. This will provide them with an excellent occasion to attack, when the Sikh forces will reach plane fields. As on the mountaintops it is difficult to defeat them. A similar request was sent to Guru Gobind Singh Ji who accepted their request thinking of the fact that a lot of blood shed is being done. Guru ji moved along with the Sikh forces towards a place called Nirmohi, which was about three kilometers from Anandpur Sahib. There he made his resting place on a spot, which was higher than the other places, and a small amount construction was also done there. As soon as Guru reached Nirmoh, forces of Kehlur and Handur attacked. Although some of the Sikh forces were still in the mid way and had not reached the final spot, but the remaining Sikhs fought bravely with a return attack of arrows. Coming up with the reality of not getting any success the hilly kings approached the Mughal rulers of Sirhind, which is at a distance of forty-five kilometers, for military help, which was accepted. Till they were to get help from outside they tried their level best to kill Guru Gobind Singh ji. He was attacked with canons. One of the shots from the canon killed one of the Sikh named Bhai Sahib Singh who was standing beside him. Guru Ji immediately fired his arrows and killed the attacker on the spot. Soon the enemy got help from Sirhind and Guru Sahib and his forces were cornered from both sides by the Mughal forces and the forces of the Hilly Kings. Considering the situation Guru ji decided to reach the place called Basali, where the ruler was his disciple and used to respect him a lot. Therefore Guru Gobind Singh along with his forces crossed Satluj and came to Basali.

#Battle of Basali
At reaching Basali Guru and his forces were given due amount of honor, and full military support. Hilly forces including the people belonging from the low castes like Gujjars and Ranghars from the village of Kalmot attacked Sikh forces at Basali but they were defeated and heavy loses incurred to them. After which Guru ji along with his Sikhs came back to Anandpur Sahib. Accepting their defeats the hilly kings started talking of peace. The King of Kehlur even sent some amount to Guru Ghar as donations. For next two years there was complete peace and no heavy battle was fought.

#Third Battle of Anandpur
Once again the Hilly kings requested the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to help them in their bit to stop the growing popularity of Guru Gobind Singh. The emperor sent his forces under the leader ship of Said Khan, who was brother in law of Pir Buddhu Shah, the famous Muslim saint and a friend of Guru ji. During the famous battle of Bhangani near Paunta Sahib, Pir Buddhu Shah’s two sons fought for Sikh forces and the both laid down their lives. On his way of going to Anandpur Sahib, Said Khan stayed for a while with his sister and brother in law, from whom he heard a lot of praise for the Guru. Perhaps the thought came into his mind that he was going on a wrong mission. But still he moved on. Said Khan attacked Anandpur Sahib on 29th March 1704. During that time at Anandpur Sahib there were a small number of five hundred Sikhs. But still the they fought very bravely, Two Muslim fighters Said Khan who became disciple of Guru ji during the battle of Chamkaur, and Mamu Khan also fought from Guru's side and attained martyrdom. The fact the two Muslims soldiers fought for the Guru and sacrificed themselves shook Said Khan to a great extent and he withdrew himself from the war. After him another commander Ramzan Khan took in charge, he was injured by one of the arrows of Guru ji. Since the Mughal forces combined with hilly forces were far in number than the Sikhs. Guru decided to leave Anandpur Sahib. As the Sikhs left the city the enemy forces started looting whatever was left behind. In the night when all the enemy forces laid fast asleep after having enjoyed the success of victory, suddenly they were attacked by the Sikh, and all the looted wealth was recovered along with the city of Anandpur Sahib. This way the Sikhs also won this particular battle.

  #Fourth and the last battle of Anandpur Sahib
When the emperor learned about the defeat of his forces from Sikhs he became very annoyed. He wrote to the governors of Lahore, Sirhind, Jammu and Multan to some how or the other capture Guru Gobind Singh either dead or alive. After recieving the orders from the emperor the governor of Sirhind Wazir Chand, gathered all of the hilly rulers. King Amir Chand of Bilaspur Ghumand Chand of Kangra Bir Singh of Jaswal and other rulers of Kullu, Kainthal, Mandi, Jammu, Noorpur, Chamba, Gulair, Srinagar (Garhwal), Bushhar, Biggerwal, and Dadwal also joined this combined effort. Raangarhs and Gujjars also joined them; even the forces from Kashmir and the Pathans also came in. When Guru Gobind Singh ji came to know about this he asked his Sikhs from the regions of Malwa, Majha, Doaba, to gather in, following which there were about ten thousand Sikhs gathered at Anandpur Sahib.But still the number of Sikhs was far less than that of the enemy. In the month of May 1704 enemy forces attacked Anandpur Sahib and the battle started. Guns, Tanks and Swords and Arrows were used. Sikhs although less in number got the advantage of being on high hills. There fore their arrows matched the might of the gunshots and it became very difficult for the combined enemy forces to capture Anandpur Sahib. Soon the enemy sealed Anandpur Sahib from all the four side and the supply line was cut. This battle continued for several months, Sikhs who were fighting for their Guru had to face many hardships in the form of lack of food, lack of water, and lack of proper weapons. Even the enemy forces faced a lot of difficulties and were short of food supplies, they started looting and rein sacking the villages nearby. Many messages for compromise, and willingness for peace were sent, but were rejected by Guru and his Sikhs. Soon a message came from Aurrangnzeb came with the signed copies of Koran requesting Guru ji to leave Anandpur Sahib and giving assurance that none of his Sikhs be harmed and will be given a safe passage. Thinking about the miserable conditions of his people Guru finally decided to leave Anandpur Sahib, along with his Sikhs. THIS WAS PERHAPS THE FINAL DEPARTURE FROM THE CITY, AGAIN AS EXPECTED Guru ALONG WITH HIS GURSIKHS WERE AGAIN DECIEVED AND ATTACKED NEAR THE BANKS OF SARSA, WHERE THE FAMILY OF Guru SAHIB SPLITTED . TWO OF HIS ELDER SONS REMAINED WITH HIM AND LATER SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES AT CHAMKAUR SAHIB, WHILE THE YOUNGER TWO WHO WENT TO SOME OTHER PLACE WITH THEIR GRAND MOTHER WERE LATER ON CAPTURED AND BROUGHT TO SIRHIND AND SACRIFICED THERE.